


Who We Are

by RedHoodsDoll



Series: Becoming Us [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrinette, Aged-Up Character(s), DJWifi, F/F, F/M, LadyNoir - Freeform, Marichat, Original Character - Freeform, Post-High, gabenath
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-18
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-08-25 04:17:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16654099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedHoodsDoll/pseuds/RedHoodsDoll
Summary: Marinette and Adrien are in a whirlwind mess once again. They believed themselves to be safe with Hawk Moth's capture, but now they have Le Papillon on the scene to worry about. With the court dates, end of school, and once again bringing together Team Miraculous to defeat a threat against Paris, will they be able to keep up with their friends, families, and their secret identities?***Chat Noir gazed at her fondly. He knew what he had to do then and there. One fell swoop and he had her tucked into her chest. She was laughing for the moment, thinking he was joking around as he carried her across the roof tops, but how was she going to react when she realized why he had snatched her up in the first place?





	1. Restless Nights, Dragging Days

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello, hello! I'm back :)

Marinette had wanted to smash the cameras to the ground and stomp them into dust the moment she and Adrien had left the bakery that foggy morning. The lights were hurting her eyes and she was sure Adrien felt the same way. Neither of the couple had slept much the night before. They had tried to curl up and get some sleep last night, but they were both fitful. And when Marinette had finally fallen asleep, she woke up to Adrien sobbing and thrashing next to her. She had heard some words, but they were a mix. She figured it was because of all the stress. School, running the company, Felix being Le Papillon, the court date being the morning after. The rest of the night had been spent awake, holding him and reassuring him that she was there for him. Her only hope was that the dark circles under their eyes didn't make them look like they had joined a fight club.

The media had been crowding them out since they had left the bakery. They had actually taken a cab that morning so that they didn't have to have as much exposure, but they still managed to scream so loud that Marinette's head hurt. And their questions were scathing. How could he turn against his own father? Would he wish the death sentence was still in effect? Marinette had been tempted to slap the man that asked if Adrien wished he had been there to catch the butterfly miraculous to avenge his father. Police officers escorted them up the steps, but there wasn't much they could do about the fact that the media was there, staring at them, capturing every terrible moment of one of the worst days in their lives. She had been alive for four thousand and six hundred odd days, and yet this made the top ten of her worst days ever. She had always thought that catching Hawk Moth would make her life easier, but it had just made it more complicated. And the hate that she was holding in her heart for him was beginning to hurt. She wanted this to all be over so that she could move forward. So that they could move forward.

It wasn't until they were finally seated that it felt like Marinette could breathe again. It was only then that the pain in her hand registered in her brain. Adrien's hand was clamped down harshly on hers and he was blocking her from someone's view. She glanced over his shoulder and her eyes narrowed in on Felix who was taking the seat next to Adrien. He smirked and nodded at the pair and Marinette couldn't help but to glance around looking for Chat Noir and begging him to take him out on the spot. Just take the miraculous and run. She herself debated it, she could outrun him with a head start, but how would she explain herself without revealing her true identity. But Felix turned away from her to face the front and cross his legs.

_"Do we tell the police?" That was the first thing Adrien had asked when they had hidden themselves away in his office after they were reunited in the front hall. Their receptionist had given them an odd look, but she had let them back upstairs without any further questions._

_"If we tell the police, everyone will know. I don't want to ruin his life like that. And with all the work we've put into DCA, wouldn't that put us back to first base?" Marinette had chewed her lip raw with worry. She didn't have an answer. She had wanted to storm Agreste manor and tear it off his chest, no matter the consequences. But that wouldn't work either. She needed a plan, but she didn't think any lucky charm would help her in this situation._

_Adrien ran his hand through his hair and groaned. "I don't know what to do." He slammed his fist down on the glass desk and Marinette winced when it groaned underneath him. She grabbed onto his shoulders and placed a kiss in the middle of his back._

_"Chat said he'd be there tomorrow."_

_"And you think he has the answers?"_

_"He always helps Ladybug," He always helps me, Marinette thought to herself. "That's got to count for something."_

_Adrien smiled and hugged her. "Alright, I guess we'll follow his lead."_

The only problem was, how were they supposed to follow his lead when he was nowhere to be seen and hadn't been seen all morning. And how would the media take the fact that Chat Noir would show up, but not Ladybug. Two officers brought out Gabriel Agreste in shackles and a designer suit. Marinette whipped around to glare at Felix when he scoffed. 

"Even as a prisoner, the man gets freedom."

And what was even more shocking was that Adrien nodded in a disappointed agreement. Marinette shut her mouth that had fallen open in her moment of shock and kept her eyes forward, not wanting to cause a scene when the media had its eyes on them. There were 5 different news stations recording the court proceedings that day and Marinette didn't want to give any of them the satisfaction of a scene.

The magistrate entered the room and everyone became silent. The woman sat in her seat and her black and white robes fluttered around her. Her dark eyes pierced the crowd and her smile was almost chilling. Marinette knew her well. Magistrate Juge was a smart and calculating woman. She had put in place the akuma victim laws that prevented the police from holding the victims accountable, especially since Ladybug always fixed everything in the end.

"Monsieur Gabriel Agreste, I'm happy to see you didn't arrive fashionably late." Her voice thick like honey, caused the tension in the court room to evaporate.

"Of course, Magistrate. I would know better than to stand up a woman of your stature." Adrien stiffened beside Marinette when his father spoke. Sure, he had gone over a month between seeing his father before, but this was different. This was him sitting in the middle of a bench behind his father, knowing what he had done wrong. Adrien had even thrown his father to the wolves. It had been the right thing to do, for sure, but the guilt that was digging and clawing in his stomach made him want to run from the courtroom. He was brave, except for when he had to face his father, then he was almost always a coward.

"Good, I'm glad you understand the power I hold in this court room. Do you understand why you're here today?"

"I do believe that the officer told me that they're charging me with approximately 1,564 counts of terrorism and treason and also many attempted homicide charges."

"I hope you understand that this trial is to prove your innocence. You are already perceived guilty in the eyes of the court. We have evidence documenting your use of the butterfly miraculous. You and your lawyer may present your case." Magistrate Juge leaned back with her hands folded in her lap as she studied the man sitting in front of her. It was obvious to Adrien that the magistrate already knew that Gabriel couldn't prove a case of innocence. His only saving grace would be the fact that France had gotten rid of the death penalty.

And so they sat there for hours as the lawyer explained why Gabriel was not to be held accountable for his actions. They started with how the loss of his wife had destroyed him and his core beliefs and that he began to have delusions that if he could get Ladybug and Chat Noir to help him, that they would be able to bring his wife back to him. That wasn't the worst of it though, the worst was when the lawyer requested to bring forward a witness. Marinette smirked, waiting to see who he could possibly bring forward. It couldn't be Felix, he was away for too long to bear a character witness, Adrien had already chose his side, and Nathalie was not in the courtroom that morning. No one had seen her since she fled the hospital.

When the lawyer called out, "Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Nino Lahiffe," her blood froze and her shoulder shook with her anger.

"You do not have to bear witness today," Magistrate Juge said as Marinette stood.

It was too late for that though, her nerves were steeled and it was like she was wearing her Ladybug suit as she approached the stand. "It would be my pleasure." She could see the way her words elicited a response from Gabriel as he shrunk back from her. She had never seen the man cower from anyone, not even when she was dangling him over the edge of a roof when he no longer had a miraculous. She could see the way the lawyer shook his head, realizing that this plan was not their best one.

Nino set his hand on her shoulder when he stood next to her, but he was glancing towards Adrien unlike Marinette. No, she was ready for this and she was staring down Gabriel Agreste's ice blue eyes.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, do you swear to be honest in all of your words?"

"I swear it." Her confidence stunned the courtroom as they all glanced at each other, uncertain of how to take this all in.

"Nino Lahiffe, do you swear to be honest in all of your words?"

"Yeah, I swear it." His voice shook and Marinette grabbed his shoulder.

"It's going to be okay, alright? Just be honest and there's nothing that can go wrong." She smiled at her friend who was looking slightly pale and ready to collapse.

"Got it. Honest. Can do."

"Nino, is it true that you were akumatized due to Gabriel Agreste's direct negligence of his son Adrien Agreste on his own birthday?" The lawyer approached the desk the were sitting at and Nino clamped his hands together in his lap so that he wouldn't fidget.

"Yeah."

"And how did you feel when the identity of Hawk Moth was revealed?"

Nino stuttered and stared. He knew full well where he had been and how he had felt. Like shit. Absolute shit. He had been fighting his best friend's father for 4 years and had never been none the wiser. That and he was pretty sure he was suffering from a head injury at the time.

"Why would how he feel be relevant to Gabriel's innocence?" Marinette interrupted as Nino swallowed.

The lawyer glanced down at her, his eyebrow cocked as he took in her petite form. "Mlle Dupain-Cheng, please, allow for the adults to talk."

Marinette stood up from her chair and slammed her hands on her desk. "I am 18 years old, I am the lead designer of DCA Fashions, and I will not allow you to treat me like I am a child. Now how about I repeat myself for the children in the court room, why is how he felt about the reveal important to the case of his innocence?"

The man chuckled and patted Marinette's head. "Well, little girl in pigtails, it is important because Nino is here to bear character witness since he felt Gabriel's own delusional wrath and can kindly explain to the court if these delusions add up."

"They don't! Just because you tell your son he can't have a birthday party doesn't mean you can go around terrorizing an entire city and forcing people to do your dirty work just because they're having negative emotions!" Nino spoke up as he mimicked Marinette who had decided to stand straight up with her arms crossed as she stared down the lawyer who was trying to make her look bad in the public eye.

"But you agree that these were delusions that made him act this way?"

"Well, I can't say I know any sane person who would willing dress up in a super suit and ravage a city." Marinette snorted at Nino's comment, realizing that some Parisians had tried to say that was exactly what Team Miraculous did every time that they saved the day.

"Marinette, do you agree with Nino?"

And Marinette saw all of the strings tying together in a knot. This lawyer was a spider in disguise, closing in all of the threads so that the citizens of Paris would be the flies that fell pray to him. She shook her head in amusement. "I disagree. Gabriel Agreste is not insane. He is a very intelligent capable man who knew exactly what he was doing. I saw many of my classmates fall victim to him, and I have to say, they way he thought things through was almost awe-inspiring. If only he had used that passion in his designs rather than terrorizing my city. He is a terrorist, and he made every decision by himself and without remorse for anyone else."

The lawyer gaped at her. She had sniffed it out from a mile away. He was going to plead that Gabriel was insane and could not have made those decisions of his own accord. "I wonder if Ladybug would see things the same way as you, Marinette." Gabriel's voice pinned her to the spot. She knew the spotlight was on her, but it was like the lines that she had memorized were ripped from her throat.

 _He knows, he always knew._ Marinette couldn't help but to think the worst. But she knew that there was no way he could know, she had always been careful. The only reason Chat Noir knew was because she was forced to tell him. Her hand had been forced by fate itself, otherwise she would have never spoke up.

She laughed. "Sir, I do believe she would have much worse to say considering she's gone toe to toe with you before."

Gabriel grinned, revealing a perfect set of pearly whites that were unsettlingly even. "Why yes, of course." 

Marinette rubbed her rings from her boyfriends against her arms in an attempt to ground herself. "Seeing as I believe I just threw their entire case, may I go back to Adrien's side, your honor?" She set her gaze on Magistrate Juge who was studying her closely while beaming at her at the same time.

"You and Monsieur Lahiffe may both return to your seats." She waved them away and Adrien hugged her tight to him when Marinette sat back down.

"That was braver than Ladybug." He whispered.

"Don't let her hear you saying that." Marinette whispered back as they turned their attention back to the front. The lawyer was now seated and looked baffled as he hung his head. Gabriel was shaking his head.

"Monsieur Agreste, do you have anything else to say for yourself?"

"My lawyer is an idiot. Nothing else."

"I see." Juge shook her head and rubbed her forehead. "You know what, Gabriel, when I was appointed to take charge of your case, I hoped that a man as smart as you would at least pretend to have remorse. Or at least say that words I'm sorry once in my court room, but instead you come in here as arrogant as a peacock. I deem this trial complete. Next date is schedule a month from this time." She stood, turned on her heel, and left with her gown flowing out behind her like angel wings. 

The officers came over to lift Gabriel up and take him back, but he turned and leaned over the bench. "I love you, Adrien." Adrien flinched back, grabbing onto Marinette. He hadn't meant to. He wanted to stand up against the man, but it felt like he had been slapped.

"If you truly loved him, you would have moved on." Marinette answered as she put herself between Adrien and his father. "Instead, you held onto your pain. Learn to let it go." 

Gabriel glared at her as the officers dragged him out of the court room by his shackles. Marinette blinked away the tears she was about to shed for Adrien's sake. She had to be strong, that's what he needed from her right now. She glanced to her left and groaned when she saw Felix had slipped away in the ruckus with Gabriel. Her only hope now was that Chat Noir had caught him outside of the courthouse. But as she and Adrien exited and her other boyfriend was nowhere to be seen, she had a bad feeling that while the courtroom had gone her way today, the rest of her plan had crumbled beneath her.

The flashing lights enveloped her and Adrien. Alya grabbed onto her arm and helped them plow through the reporters who's scathing remarks burnt as they lit up against her ears. She yanked Adrien in front of her and ran behind him, hands covering her ears. She didn't want to hear anymore accusations. She wanted to go home, curl up in bed, and cuddle with her two favorite men, but she had a feeling that she would only be holding Adrien today, and brushing away the tears that were sure to come after sitting through all of that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter One was much shorter than I meant for it to be, but this had to set everything else up, so it's not necessarily a bad thing that it's short. I hope you guys like it though! Send me all of the comments and kudos please, that's what is getting me through these long work weeks!


	2. Team Miraculous Hates Stupid People

The next thing Marinette knew, was that it was Valentine's Day. It was like Paris flipped a switch. Over night the temperature had raised to 50 degrees and melted away all of the remaining snow, the sun was shining and drying everything out, there was flowers out in every window, and the air smelled of spring. Paris wasn't the only thing to flip a switch. Adrien had pulled her out of bed and into a kiss right when their alarm went off.

"Come on lazy butt, let's get ready for school," He had whispered before carrying her into the shower.

They had arrived to school just a few minutes late, but that was Adrien's fault today. He knew better than to put Marinette in a warm shower when she had a time limit. She didn't like to be rushed out of it when she had just been woken up. She had worn a pair of black leggings and a long red shirt that had a heart embroidered on it. Now that she was putting out new designs everyday at DCA, some of her friends were even wearing her clothes. In fact, several girls at school were wearing the same outfit as her, including Chloe who had turned ten different shades of red when Marinette had walked in.

"Not fair, you shouldn't be allowed to wear the clothes you design." Chloe had pouted, causing the majority of the class to laugh which drowned out the part where she had mentioned that Marinette looked cuter in the outfit than she did.

Marinette had a fun day of hanging out with her friends. Alya couldn't stop gushing about the plan that Adrien and Chat Noir had for that night, but Marinette had rolled her eyes. She didn't need either of the boys to do anything too spectacular. She just wanted to see them both and be able to enjoy their company. Nino had mentioned his plan for taking Alya to go bowling later since the year before they had gone to laser tag and she had demolished him at it.

The end of the day came around, and it was a nice change to have there be no akumas floating around. None that would attempt to destroy all the love in everyone's lives because they were rejected. It was like a breath of fresh air from the last several years where everyone knew there would be at least one akuma on Valentine's day. Alya and Nino broke away from Marinette and Adrien as they reached the side entrance to the apartment. The line for the bakery was out the doors and down the block. It was insane.

The couple hurried up the stairs and landed in the bedroom. "How much homework do you have left to do?" Adrien asked as he sat down at the desk and dropped his bag.

"Just math. I waited until we could do it together."

"You waited until I could tell you how to do it, didn't you?" Adrien smirked as Marinette stuck her tongue out at him.

"It was either you or Chat, so take it or leave it."

"Have you heard from him yet?"

"No, he told me he wanted me to see him today, but I have a feeling that you know I will be seeing him after the sun goes down that way the media doesn't swarm him after the court hearing."

Adrien ran his hand through his hair and dug into his bag, looking for his tablet. "I may have heard and or planned with him for tonight, but you'll have to wait and see." In all honesty, his heart skipped a beat. He knew exactly what he had planned tonight. Alya and Nino knew what he had planned for tonight. The only question was, would Marinette kill him or not?

Marinette rolled her eyes and flopped down on her chaise. "You can be vague and cryptic about tonight, but right now, I need your help in math, or else we won't both be graduating." 

They worked on their homework through the remainder of the afternoon and it wasn't long until the sunset had started. "Come on, we need to get dressed." Adrien finally said as he locked his tablet. 

"I'm guessing if I need to change, that we're going to somewhere where I'll have to look nicer than this?" Marinette said as she gestured to her outfit.

Adrien stroked her cheek. "You look absolutely gorgeous, but, we're going somewhere where even designer leggings aren't exactly allowed."

"You know what, Agreste, those were things I never had to worry about before I started dating you." Marinette stuck out her tongue and disappeared into their closet. Adrien took a deep breath and followed her in. Whenever Marinette was in a playful mood, he knew he was absolutely screwed. She was so perfect as is, and then she'd begin teasing and he couldn't help but melt. 

He grabbed his suit out of his side of the closet and walked to the bathroom. He was fast at changing after all those years of modeling, so it usually worked out if he went first and then helped Marinette if she needed it. As soon as he opened the door again, Marinette dashed in, nudged him out, and slammed the door. "Alright, alright, want me to meet you downstairs?" He laughed at her antics. She was obviously hiding something from him, and if he had to guess, it was probably a new design that her and Arthur had brought to life.

"That'd be perfect!"

So he sat down at the counter and talked with Sabine about their plans for tonight. She didn't know the whole plan, but she already had told him that she liked what he had told her. Actually, he had told almost everyone except Marinette, and everyone liked the idea. Even Chloe had agreed that it was cute, which didn't shock him as much as it would have a couple months ago.

Adrien stopped mid sentence as he spotted Marinette walking down the stairway, in his colors. The dress was a high low shiny black design. Where the light hit it, it shone green. It had thin straps that made Marinette's shoulders look thinner than usual. It showed off her slim figure and made her pale skin shine. "Cat got your tongue?" She whispered.

Adrien was pretty sure he felt Sabine close his jaw as a whimper fell from his throat.

"Come on pretty boy, I believe you told me that we had a dinner reservation." Marinette said as she grabbed the black leather jacket that she had snatched from the Chat Noir line. She had looked gorgeous in her usual Ladybug red, but he realized now that he much preferred seeing her in his colors. He quickly jumped up and walked her out as Sabine called out a reminder to have fun.

They were driven to the restaurant and when they got out, Marinette gawked. Once again, Adrien was taking her out to one of the finer places that Paris had to offer. "I was called by so many places, but I figured that this place was more your style."

"Hmm, I suppose I'll take your word for it since the nicest places I used to go was the cafe down the street from my house, Monsieur Agreste."

Adrien's heart skipped a beat as they walked to their table. He loved Marinette, but she could be intimidating if she wanted to be. And currently with her dark makeup, and her darkly colored lips that kept breaking into a tempting little smirk, he was a goner. He wasn't even sure if they'd make it through the entire evening.

The hostess sat them at their reserved table that was set further back in the restaurant, away from most of the louder conversations. Adrien ordered them a bottle of wine and Marinette giggled. "Wine? It must be a special occasion. I don't think I've ever seen you drink."

"You may to remind me what today is."

"Only the most romantic day of the year."

"Oh right, it's my birthday." She kicked him under the table, causing him to laugh as the waiter poured their glasses. They quickly ordered and handed over their menus before they tapped their glasses together.

"To another year of happy memories together." Adrien offered.

"To another year of us being happy together." Marinette smiled as she sipped the sweet red liquid courage.

"To another year of watching you two lovesick humans." Marinette choked on her drink and began coughing as Felix pulled up a chair at their table. "Careful, wouldn't want you to die here. That'd be an even bigger embarrassment to the Agreste name."

"Fuck you," Marinette spluttered as she wiped her face with her black napkin.

"I'd rather not considering you're dating my brother." Felix grinned as he glanced between the two of them. "Ah, yes, I can sense I'm unwelcome here. I just wanted to drop by and see how you two were after that court session. But, alas, it is Valentine's day."

He went to stand, but Marinette grabbed his wrist and yanked him back down to her level. "Do the right thing here, Felix. We'll go to the police if you don't turn that over to Ladybug and Chat Noir."

Felix nodded and leaned forward, causing Marinette to scoot back, but he invaded her space anyways. His lips brushed her ear, causing her to wince as he whispered, "I won't give you this pretty little miraculous until you hand over yours and your partners'." 

Adrien watched as Marinette gasped, covered her mouth and proceeded to slap Felix across the face with her free hand. Felix rubbed his cheek as he stepped back. "Are you okay, my love?" A new voice spoke, causing the trio to turn.

"Bridgette!" Marinette exclaimed as she glanced between the couple. 

"Oh, Mari, I almost didn't recognize you, I didn't realize that you had become pretty over the years. Must be a perk of dating a model." Bridgette's tone was scathing as she glared daggers at her cousin.

"I'm sorry, what is happening?" Adrien muttered as he glanced around the group. Marinette looked like she had either been stabbed or was ready to stab someone, Felix looked smugly satisfied as he rubbed the red hand print on his cheek, and this new girl Bridgette looked too familiar but he couldn't figure out why.

"Adrien, that's my cousin Bridgette," And suddenly the resemblance was there and he couldn't unsee it. They had the same dark hair and blue eyes, but Bridgette was taller than Marinette and had longer hair. Her eyes were more almond shaped and she had slightly darker skin, but they could have been sisters.

"Oh, nice to meet you," He offered his hand politely, but Bridgette ignored him.

"Let's go, my love."

"No, I have one more thing to do, then we can go." Felix leaned down and hugged Adrien tightly.

"I'll tell you this once, keep that pretty ring on your finger, and I'll have to take it from you. It's the only way for me to fix things. You have a day to give it to me, or else I will take it from you." And like that, Adrien's blood turned to ice. He wondered if Felix had said something similar to Marinette and that was what had caused that reaction in her. If so, it was rightfully done. He pushed Felix away from him, worried for a moment that his brother would ruin everything and tell Marinette here and now about his little secret. He had a plan, and Felix be damned if he ruined it.

The couple walked away, leaving Adrien and Marinette staring at each other as their food was set down in front of them. "Did we just let them walk away?" Marinette finally said after picking at her dish for a few moments.

"I have a feeling we'll be seeing them again soon."

They finished their dinner in a peaceful silence that was filled with silent thoughts. Marinette was calculating a plan for how to take down Felix without it involving murder and without him divulging her secret. Adrien was trying to figure how and when Felix had figured it out. Adrien walked her to the front door before pretending he forgot his phone inside. He ran back inside and out the back door. He glanced around, discovered the coast was clear and transformed. He climbed to the roof and dove off the other side.

Marinette was too busy being engrossed in her own thoughts to see him coming. The thing she knew was that someone had grabbed her and yanked her off her feet before shooting up into their air and over the roof tops, ripping a scream from her lips. "CHAT NOIR!"

"That's my name, don't wear it out purrincess. Admit it, that was pretty pawsome."

"Puns? Really?" Marinette sounded exasperated as he landed on the roof he had asked Alya to set everything up on. As Marinette took in the scene of rose petals and glowing candles, she turned on her heel and pointed her finger in his face. "You planned this! Adrien didn't really leave his phone in the restaurant, did he?"

"He may or may not have, but I saw the purrfect opportunity to pounce, and I took it." Chat joked as he leaned forward on his baton and stared at the gorgeous, but annoyed woman in front of him.

"I can't believe you. Either of you. Did you even see Felix there tonight? Did you even think to try and take him on when he left?"

"I didn't, I had other things to do tonight. Besides, I know he'll be seeking me out pretty soon."

"Oh really? Is your ancient power the ability to see the future?" Marinette crossed her arms and stomped her foot as she looked away from him. It was a cute scene that he had set up for them.

"No, I haven't quite figured that one out yet. Maybe it's the ability to not have you slap me." Chat whispered as he knelt down in front of her. She was too busy scanning the horizon to notice though.

"Why would I slap you, Chat? You may frustrate me with your puns, but I still love, oh my god." She had noticed him kneeling and her hands flew up to cover her mouth.

Chat chuckled, but it was dry in his throat. "I know, I know. We haven't exactly been together for a long time now, but Marinette, it doesn't matter if we wait years to get married. You are the one for me, now and forever. I know how I feel about you, and I know how you feel about me, and with where things are going, this felt more right than anything else in my life. I'd be willing to wait centuries for you, and I know we have years upon years ahead of us, but Marinette, I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my days with you, whether that be as your best friend, boyfriend, fiancee, husband, it doesn't matter, as long as I have my partner by my side." He got a secure grip on his ring.

"Wait, Chat,"

But he wasn't listening to her whispers. "I love you Marinette Dupain-Cheng, will you be our wife?"

"No!" She shouted as he pulled off his ring and offered it to her as his transformation fell and Plagg came spinning out of his ring. Marinette caught the kwami and glanced down at Plagg before gawking and staring back at Adrien Agreste. Her boyfriends were one and the same. She had been dating both sides of the same person. The gears were spinning in her head as she took in the scene in front of her. They had both known and she had bent over backwards trying to keep her identity a secret from Adrien. He had hidden the truth from her for months, but she couldn't find it in her heart to be angry with him. He was just doing what she had told him to. She herself had even thought she had figured it out before, but she still had denied it.

Adrien took her left hand away from her mouth and gingerly placed the ring at the tip of her finger. "You,"

"Me," He smiled.

"This entire time?"

"Always."

"You stupid cat." The tears were building in her eyes.

"Is that a no?"

"No,"

"Yes?"

"Yes."

"Wait, yes as in yes, or yes as in no?"

"Yes, Adrien or Chat or whatever, chaton, yes you stupid cat!" She wiped at her tears, causing a few to fall onto Plagg which made him whine as Adrien slipped his ring onto her finger. It was oddly a perfect fit, but Marinette wondered if that was the magic of the miraculous. She threw her arms around Adrien's neck and he caught her before they could go tumbling off the roof.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

They laid on the roof for several minutes, as the tears stopped pouring down Marinette's face. "How long have you been planning this?"

"Well, since they day I met Ladybug, but I decided a little before Christmas that you were the one for me. And it was sooner than I had planned, but with our lives, I didn't want to wait. Besides, literally anyone who had any business knowing, knew what I was planning tonight."

"My parents knew you were going to reveal yourself tonight and propose?"

"Well, they knew I was going to propose, but Alya and Nino and Chloe knew I was going to propose and reveal myself." Adrien shrugged beneath her as she pulled away and stared at him.

"How did they know?"

"Well, Alya didn't trust Chat, so I let her trust him through Adrien. And did you really expect their reveal to not reveal my identity?"

"Adrien," Marinette groaned. "4 years of keeping identities secret and I'm the only one who hasn't said fuck it and announced that I was Ladybug?"

"Uh, considering I'm 90% sure that Alya stuck around to video tape this, I'm pretty sure she knows now."

Marinette jumped up and spotted Rena Rouge standing on the chimney behind the waving her fingers. "Don't worry, I'll keep your secret safe, my lady." Rena winked and Marinette debated on if a jump off the roof would kill her or not when Adrien stood up.

"That's my line, Rena." Adrien teased.

His words brought Marinette's attention to the ring on her finger. "Actually," her lips turned up in a smirk. She glanced over her shoulder at Adrien and his eyes went wide as she wiggled her fingers at him. "I believe that's my line now. What's the word, Plagg?"

"Claws out." Plagg grinned as Adrien caught what was happening before his eyes.

"No, Mari, wait!"

"Plagg, claws out." The glint in her eyes wasn't quite malicious but it was definitely something. The flash of green was odd, it made him feel nostalgic. Marinette however enjoyed the rush that it gave her. The leather covering her body was different than the spandex that she was used to with her suit. She glanced at herself and smirked, There were cutouts in the suit at her shoulders and her hips. Not enough to leave her overly exposed, but enough to boost her confidence. The belt tail that dangled between her feet was an interesting change. And the staff instead of her yo-yo was odd. But it didn't feel too heavy in her hand as she brought it out in front of her and spun it.

"That's hot," Rena whispered as she took in Marinette as Chat Noir.

"That's more than hot, that is the most amazing thing that I've ever seen."

"Is that so, chaton?" Marinette purred as she turned and smirked at her boyfriend, er, fiancee. She had said yes. It was pretty soon, but she had known that she'd marry one of them when this all started, so being able to marry both was just a plus.

The sound that slipped out of his mouth was encouraging as she stepped into his space and placed a claw under his chin. "Chat got your tongue? Am I in your purrsonal space, darling?"

"I'm out of here, congrats!" Rena shouted as she jumped off the roof and onto the next in order to give the newly engaged couple their space.

"I, Mari, I have the real ring in my pocket, so if I could get mine back?" Adrien whimpered as the claw dragged down his neck and across his collar bone.

"So soon? I'm purrfectly comfortable with wearing this one for the evening." Marinette purred. "Besides, you got yourself into this one, kitty. Having me date both sides of you and not letting me be any wiser until you ask me to marry you?"

"I, oh fuck." Adrien gasped as Marinette leaned in and ran her nose along the side of his neck.

"No excuses?"

"I love you."

Marinette chuckled. "I love you too." She yanked him down to her level and pressed a hot kiss to his lips. He definitely was going to have her lipstick on him when they were done. They fell onto the roof, careful to avoid landing on the candles. Eventually, Adrien stole back the ring and broke the transformation. Marinette blinked at the change, but smiled when she realized what he had done.

"What, couldn't stand to let Plagg and I have some bonding time?"

"I like her, she's fun, I'm so glad you two are finally going to get married." Plagg kept on talking, but neither of them were paying much attnention.

"I think the two of you spending a lot of time together would spell trouble for me." Adrien said as he wiped the smeared lipstick off the corner of Marinette's mouth.

"Don't worry, Adrien, I'll help you keep them in check."

"Thank you Tikki." Adrien smirked.

"You two know each other?" Marinette said glancing between her kwami and Adrien.

"Oh we've known each other for a little bit. Ever since I found out you were Ladybug, we've made a habit of waking up before you."

Marinette groaned and dropped her head back. "Two rays of pure sunshine, I will die of actual cuteness overdose."

"Hey! What about me?" Plagg complained.

"You're cute too, even if you smell like stinky cheese. Camembert?" Marinette guessed.

"She's perfect." Plagg may or may not have been drooling, Adrien couldn't exactly tell. He was too busy pulling the ring out of his jacket pocket. 

"So, is that still a yes, my lady?"

"It is, chaton."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, one new chapter. Only 3 minutes to spare in the day. Things haven't exactly been easy, but I'm working through them. Day by day, step by step. I appreciate all the comments and kudos, my loves! Love, Emily


	3. Battles of Everyday and Then Some

Adrien had pulled out the box from his jacket pocket and offered her the real ring. It was simple, just a silver band with a diamond, but the diamond was surrounded by emeralds and rubies. Marinette had cried when she saw it. Adrien had known she was Ladybug the entire time, and she had never even known. And he had obviously planned this all out if he had even put their colors into her ring. After sitting on the roof together for a little longer, Marinette transformed and took them home since Plagg was out of Camembert and refused to transform Adrien without anymore. Upon their arrival, they found themselves quickly pulled into Sabine and Tom's arms, after Marinette had detransformed of course.

They had celebrated with sweets and sitting around the table with hot chocolate. As the night wound down, the couple soon found themselves laying in bed, wide awake. Adrien was painfully aware of the fact that Marinette was stiff and that she was looking straight at the ceiling, obviously deep in thought and unable to relax. He rolled over so that he was facing her. "Mari?"

She jumped, "Sorry," She whispered as she glanced over at him.

"Was it too soon?" Adrien asked. He had wondered it himself. Their best friends had been together for 4 years, and here they were 3 months into their relationship, but he already couldn't picture his life without her. Everyone else had agreed with him that it was a good idea, but he and Marinette had skirted around the subject before because they knew the social cues were to not be in high school and to have been together for at least a year, but it just felt right.

"What? No!" She shouted before slapping her hand across her mouth. "Sorry, Adrien, it's just, it's a lot to take in. We're engaged, Alya knows who I am, you're Chat Noir, Bridgette is obviously still angry with me, Felix knows I'm Ladybug,"

"Felix knows you're Ladybug? He found out I was Chat Noir." Adrien interjected. His mind was racing along the same lines as hers.  How had he figured out their identities? And why hadn't he said something to both of them? Why had he let them know individually?

Marinette locked eyes with him. "How does he know?" There was so many times that she knew someone could have found out, but she also knew no one had. So how had this man figured things out so quickly? Had Hawk Moth always known and told him? Or was he just that good?

"I have no idea, but he told me if I don't give him my ring by tomorrow that he's going to take it."

"Adrien, this is bad." Marinette shoved down her panic and tried to think straight as Tikki snuggled into the pillow next to her.

Her fiancee sighed and shook his head. "I know, but what exactly can we do? Sure, he may be staying at the manor, but we don't know what to expect if we go there. Besides, he said he wasn't going to terrorize Paris."

"So what exactly is he planning?" Marinette bit her lip and clenched her fists. She wanted to take the fight to him, she wanted to throw him to the ground and take his miraculous, but that wasn't going to happen. It had been to easy the first time, this time, she needed to be prepared for an actual fight.

"I don't know. We know he wants the miraculous', but why?"

"Gabriel bound him to the miraculous, right? What if he just wants it gone? Maybe we convince him to keep it and help us?"

"No one would ever trust him, Le Papillon after Hawk Moth? No, it wouldn't work." Adrien shook his head as Marinette scooted closer and let him wrap his arms around her.

"We need to go see Master Fu, with the others." Marinette swallowed, knowing what that would mean.

"Alright, we can do that tomorrow. It's kinda late now, and we have school in the morning."

Marinette groaned. "I'm literally the protector of Paris, why don't I get a day off? I need sleep too." She nuzzled her head between Adrien's neck and shoulders and felt his chest vibrate as he chuckled.

"Because my lady, we're the saviors of Paris by night and high school students by day."

"And run a design company in our spare time."

"Along with homework, family time, friends, and the occasional date."

"We need a vacation."

"I second that. Maybe after all of this is over."

When they woke in the morning, Marinette went to rub her eyes with the back of her hands and was startled when her ring scratched her face. She glanced down and smiled at the three rings. She was going to have to start wearing some on the necklace that held her Kwagatama.

"Good morning," Adrien whispered as he kissed her neck.

"Why didn't I hear the alarm?" She whispered groggily. 

"Oh shit! I didn't set it!" The teens leapt out of bed and ran around the room quickly in an attempt to get ready.

"Tikki, let's go!"

"Come on Plagg!" The kwamis laughed as they went into their respective hiding spots as the teens grabbed their backpacks and bolted down the stairs.

"BYE MAMAN, BYE PAPA!" They called as they ran out the front door and straight into their best friends, who caught the couple before they could fall to the ground.

"Jeez Adrien, is Marinette rubbing off on you?" Nino laughed.

Alya snickered as she said, "Well at least we now understand their daily disappearing acts and why their lies are always so great."

Marinette shoved her friend's shoulder. "Like yours are so much better, Mlle I screamed at the Sapotis that were on the carousel in order to make my twin sisters go back to normal."

"Hey now, I thought only Ladybug knew that," Alya stuck her tongue out and Marinette laughed.

"I'm guessing you're not mad?"

"Sweetheart, we all have our identities to hide, how can I be mad that you hid that from me. However, now I'm disappointed that you haven't actually kissed Ladybug."

"I have," Adrien laughed causing the rest of the group to roll their eyes.

Marinette grabbed his hand and wrapped her fingers between his, "Well I've kissed Chat Noir."

"I've kissed Rena Rouge," Nino chimed in.

"I did more than kiss Carapace." Alya winked, causing the rest of the group to choke on their own laughter while she busted out a loud hearty laugh. "You're faces are the best. Come on, let's get to class before we're late."

They ran into the class and quickly took their seats. But something seemed off in the class room that morning. They seemed to be holding their breaths. Chloe walked in, stopped in front of their desks, and put her hand in Marinette's face. "Come on, cough it up, Dupain-Cheng."

"What?" Marinette spluttered. She had no clue what the blonde was referring to.

Chloe rolled her eyes and fixed her with a look that said Marinette should definitely know what Chloe was talking about, but she had no clue. "The ring? You think I'd let just Alya and Adrien pick it out? No way, they needed a truly fashionable person's help, so let's see it."

Marinette lifted her hand and Chloe smirked as she took her hand and turned it each way. "Yup, definitely a good choice. Congrats to you two." 

And that was the exact moment when the class erupted into pure chaos. Everyone swarmed their desks and began asking questions. When was the wedding going to be? Who were going to be the bridesmaids and groomsmen? Would Ladybug and Chat Noir be invited? Were Marinette's parents going to make the cake? Marinette's eyes were wide as she sank in Adrien's side. He just grinned at everyone's questions and demands to know exactly what had happened.

"Guys, it was last night, nothing is planned. Cut them some slack," Alya chimed in. Marinette could have kissed her she was so relieved by Alya stepping in for her.

"WHAT! HOW DID HE PROPOSE!" Rose demanded. The room grew silent as all eyes turned on them. Marinette opened her mouth and shut it as her cheeks flushed.

"In front of the Louvre. It was after we had dinner." Adrien offered.

"Aw," the class took that as a perfectly reasonable answer. It had no details, but they hadn't exactly had time to come up with a good cover story to the fact that they most definitely had been transformed into the city's famous heroes.

Then Alix had to open her mouth. "Pics?"

"Uh, no, we didn't get any." Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. The entire class exploded once more and the only thing that stopped the class from rioting was Mlle Bustier clapping her hands three times.

"Back to your seats, children. We have a class to get through. You can ask all the questions that you want to at lunch." There were a few groans, but the class all went to their seats as the lesson began. Marinette locked her ankle around Adrien's for the rest of class, but her mind wasn't on the lessons or the experiments or even her designs that were at the office that she needed to finish. No, they were on Felix. As lunch came around, she dragged Alya, Nino, and Chloe to a table with her and Adrien so that they could talk.

"Chloe, I'm guessing you know by now?" Marinette asked.

"Know what?" Marinette glanced at Alya who shook her head, and when she turned to Adrien, he just shrugged.

"Seriously? You tell Nino, but not Chloe?" Marinette scoffed.

"Tell me what?" Chloe growled. She did not have patience when it came to knowing the drama and gossip at the school.

Marinette brushed her hair away from her ears and gritted her teeth. "I'm Ladybug." Actually saying those words out loud when she was Marinette was hard. She heard the soft gasps from her friends. It wasn't something she had ever actually said to any of them. Hearing it from her was different from actually knowing it. It made it very real.

Chloe paled and nodded. "That makes a lot of sense actually." Chloe had just outed herself as having a crush on Marinette, but she was so glad she hadn't outed her crush on Ladybug. That would have been even worse because then everyone would know she had crushed on both sides of the same girl.

"Alright, now that we got that out of the way, we need to go see Master Fu later today." Marinette announced, causing most of the group to look at each other to make sure no one else knew what she was talking about.

"Who?" Echoed around the group.

Adrien chuckled. "Looks like there's still a bit to fill them in on, purrincess." The purr that he used to roll the r's caused the entire group to stiffen. It was very Chat like behavior and no one had seen Adrien act like that before, besides Marinette.

"Shush chaton. Master Fu is the guardian of the miraculous. He's the last member of their order and he is the one who holds the rest of the miraculouses. We need to update him on the fact that we found the butterfly miraculous."

"Fantastic! So now there's no more worries about it," Nino grinned as he smacked his fist onto the table.

Marinette shook her head while Adrien frowned. "Not quite."

"What do you mean, not quite Marinette?" Alya whispered.

"The miraculous is in use. And we don't know what Felix is going to do with it." Marinette whispered.

"Felix? Your brother?" Chloe whispered as she stared at Adrien. Of course she was the only one to know who Felix was, she had known Adrien the longest.

"Hawk Moth bound Felix's life to the miraculous. We don't quite know what he is going to do, but he did say he wants the Ladybug and Chat Noir miraculouses in order to unbind his life from it before he frees Gabriel from prison." Adrien explained before grabbing his water bottle. His mouth felt dry as all of their friends stared at him with wide eyes. Marinette squeezed his knee, and he took a deep breath.

"And he's dating my cousin." Marinette voiced.

"Please girl, tell me it's not the one who hates you and wishes you were dead." Alya pleaded.

"Of course it is. That's how my life is."

"Why does your cousin wished you were dead, Dupain-Cheng?" Chloe asked.

Marinette bit her lip and tucked her hair behind her ears. "Well, remember when your mom invited me to New York to study fashion?"

"Duh."

"Bridgette lived in New York. I called her that day and talked to her about it, and she was really excited. She thought we'd get to spend time together and actually get to know each other in person instead of just over skype, but it didn't happen. And when I called her again and told her I decided to finish my studies here in Paris, she took it rather personally." Marinette sighed.

"That's not a good enough reason to want you dead." Nino pointed out.

Marinette looked at Alya who shrugged. "I, well, I may have reacted poorly when she lashed out at me. I always try to keep myself in check, but she called me some really horrible things because she was angry. And I told her she would never make it in the fashion world if she couldn't hold herself together over something as stupid as me deciding to not move to New York. And then when I started dating Adrien, she sent me a message saying that I was only hoeing myself out to get ahead of her in the fashion industry. It didn't matter when I apologized, the damage was done and she hates me."

Adrien let out a low whistle. "No wonder she was less than cordial with us."

"I'm impressed Marinette, I didn't think you had a mean bone in your body." Chloe smirked.

"Don't worry, we stopped Hawk Moth, a new butterfly and his evil girlfriend will be a piece of cake." Nino clapped his hand on Adrien's shoulder.

Alya flashed her a grin. "Girl, we're Team Miraculous. We've got this. So I'm guessing after school we'll be filling in this Master Fu on the whole situation?"

And that was exactly what they did. When they all showed up together in their civilian forms, Master Fu had seemed slightly surprised, but not too astonished.

"Welcome to my home, please, enjoy it." The kwamis had spiraled out of their hiding places and flown around their room, enjoying the fact that they could all be together. Once they had all sat down and enjoyed some of Master Fu's tea, Marinette and Adrien explained the entire story while the others chimed in their two cents.

"Congratulations are in order then. Do not worry Queen Bee, you will find your partner eventually." Master Fu nodded at the blonde who blushed furiously and nodded before glancing away. "However, this is being your brother, how would you approach the situation, Chat Noir?"

"I don't know him that well, Master. He, well, he's never been home too often. And when he has been home, he hasn't been more than distant. Not that I can blame him. Father did send him away any chance he got."

"I see. Are you sure that this man will not go back on his word about not terrorizing Paris?"

The group all glanced at each other. "He seemed honest, and somewhat hyper focused on his goal. I don't think he needs to terrorize Paris since he knows who we are. Master, have you figured out yet how to undo the tie between Emilie and her miraculous so that maybe we can do the same for Felix."

Master Fu glanced down at his hands. "I apologize Ladybug. It seems that I must be truthful with you about this. There is only two ways to undo a bond like that. The one who built it must destroy it, or." He stopped.

"Or what?" Nino asked, twiddling his thumbs together before Alya smacked her hands over his.

"Or their death with also sever the bond."

Everyone made the motion of reaching for their miraculous. Marinette made eye contact with Tikki across the room. She had been playing tag with the other kwamis, but she suddenly looked at Marinette with large sad eyes, leaving the miraculous holder wondering how many holders Tikki had lost due to a hero's death.

"Then we'll get Hawk Moth to sever the bond." Marinette had fire in her soul and it shone through her eyes. "What gives him the right to ruin his son's life. Either of their lives. He will be in prison for the rest of his life, he can fuck off if he thinks that he will win from behind bars." She stood up and put her hand in the center. "We're Team Miraculous. If anyone can do this, we can. Who's with me?"

Adrien stood next and place his hand on top of hers. "Til death do us part." He said as he stared into her eyes. She shuddered at the intensity of his promise that she knew she would hear again one day.

Alya was next. "You'd be lost without your blogger, girl."

"Hey, you'll always need your shield." Nino grinned as he slapped his hand on top of theirs. 

Chloe rose with a determined looked etched into her face. "You would all be goners without your queen."

"Damn straight." Marinette fired back. Master Fu placed his cane on top of their hands.

"Don't worry, my students, I will be here for you for whatever you may need."

"Team Miraculous!" They shouted as they threw their hands up, releasing a shower of sparks. They watched as it harmlessly drifted through the air before vanishing.

"It seems, you have all already connected on a different level already. Per chance you won't need me as much as I thought." Fu smirked as the group stared in awe. Sure they had done it once before when they were transformed, but they were all very much civilian's right now.

Adrien happened a glance out the window, and he spotted him. "Guys, it's time." Le Papillon was standing on a roof, watching them closely.

"Hmm, I see. Finish your tea up. I will await your return. I believe that you will need to train more depending on how today goes." Master Fu said as he stared at the man in the purple suit that stood outside.

Everyone quickly finished off their cups as their kwamis swarmed them. A call out from each of the group members and suddenly there was a flash so bright that it made all of them blink. Everyone's costumes looked slightly different. Ladybug was no longer just red with black spots, she now had solid black that started at her mid thighs and ran all the way up her chest before stopping below her collar bones. The rest was her usual spots, but the change felt dramatic to Marinette.

Rena Rouge had a very dramatic change. Her legs and arms were entirely black, along with the neckline of her suit, but she had her usual orange and white running down her chest and flowing out at her hips in a small skirt. The biggest difference was the cape that was orange at her shoulders and faded to white at the ends that fluttered near her hips. Her flute was still slung across her back though.

Carapace had slight differences in comparison to his girlfriend. Instead of being almost all green, he had brown boots and shoulders now, but his chest was still yellow, but it had a more plastic sheen since as if it was more armored than before. His shield had more color to, including brown, red and yellow that seemed mixed like a painted turtle's shell.

Queen Bee though, she was almost the exact same except for a belt that wrapped around her waist and the pockets that rested on her hips. She quickly shoved her hands inside the pockets and grinned. "This is amazing."

"Uh, wow." Chat whispered. The group laid eyes on him and Ladybug covered her mouth to conceal her jaw drop. Chat had silver boots now instead of black. His back had a large green paw print on it, and instead of his mask being all black, it had flecks of green covering it. His baton was strapped to his lower back, but he had a second one that ran along his right thigh.

"Damn Chat, talk about an upgrade. Trying to impress your fiancee?" Alya teased him with a wink and he blushed.

"Now's not the time for chit chat, we need to go and meet him before he does something bad." Ladybug urged as she threw open the window. "Thank you Master Fu,"

The older man nodded at her as she threw herself straight out the window. She knew the rest of the team were following her lead based on the whoops and hollers as they flew through the air. Carapace held Rena in place as they zoomed past Ladybug. Queen Bee spun along the walls, letting her top lead her to where she needed to go. Chat Noir bounced along beside his partner as she zipped through the air. The group landed across the roof and engaged in a stare down with Le Papillon.

"I'm going to give you a choice, turn over your miraculous or join us. If you can't do either, we will take it from you." Ladybug shouted.

"Not a chance, Ladybug. Hand over your miraculous or else you will be facing something much worse than your true fate." Felix's voice sounded almost pained, but Ladybug brushed it off as his nerves from facing off with all of Paris's mightiest heroes.

"This is your choice, Le Papillon, don't make us choose for you," Chat Noir called as he readied both of his batons. 

He rolled his eyes. "Is that so Chat Noir? I believe we both know how this is going to end."

Ladybug readied her yo-yo, but she did a quick 180 turn on her heel and threw. The string wrapped around the would be culprit of her earrings. There stood a girl was dressed in rainbow array of colored fabrics and looked ready to tear out Ladybug's throat.

The familiar pigtails and blue eyes were what caught her attention. "Hello Bridgette."

"Hello Ladybug. I'm happy to say that I'll be taking your miraculous today." And with those words, the drapes of her clothing lashed out and began to wrap tightly around Ladybug's torso, causing a cry to be ripped from her lips as she was squeezed too tight and felt her shoulder dislocate. This was not going to be an easy battle, Ladybug realized. It may be only 2 against 5, but they didn't know a pattern here. Le Papillon was not the same as Hawk Moth. They were two very different people with two very different end goals. And it was there and then that Ladybug knew, she was going to be fighting a battle against someone who didn't care if she lived or died. It was no longer child's play. Hawk Moth had never tried to kill them, but Le Papillon seemed to have no qualms about it. This was going to be a fight for their lives. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello! It's been a hot minute, but I'm finally on the up and up! I'm beginning to feel better. Thank you so much for all the love! I appreciate every comment especially! Thank you all my loves! Love, Emily!


	4. Wits End Brings New Friends

Queen Bee was the first to advance to help Ladybug get free, but Carapace was a close second. Ladybug could hear Rena's flute sing as she blew into it. The scene didn't change though. Ladybug glanced around and realized that Rena was doing damage control. She was making sure no one below saw their fight. They didn't need all of Paris to go into a panic after all.

Ladybug thrashed as fabric attempted to rip her earrings out. Carapace slammed his shield into the pieces that held her and they quickly withdrew back to Bridgette. Ladybug dropped to ground and glared at the female. She looked almost the same as usual, besides her attire. Now she understood what Felix had meant by not terrorizing Paris. He already had a willing, angry participant to help him take down their team. Ladybug grabbed her yo-yo once again and went on the attack. It was bounced back to her more often than it actually hit Bridgette, but she wasn't going to let up.

She could hear the battle going on around them. Rena was helping Chat wail on Le Papillon, but it sounded like there was a pretty even battle even though it was two against one. Queen Bee was trying to get hits in, but the fabric caught her and knocked her off her feet before wrapping around her entirely. Ladybug shouted, "Carapace, help Bee!"

That was when she saw it. It was out of the corner of her eye. Le Papillon flipped directly over Rena Rouge and Chat Noir. He knocked Rena out of the way and off the roof, causing Carapace to jump on his shield and fly after her so that she didn't hit the ground. Chat leapt to his feet and his baton met Le Papillon's cane. Ladybug watched in horror as he unsheathed a dagger from within the cane. She readied her yo-yo and aimed as she felt Bridgette wrap her arm around her throat and squeeze.

"CHAT NOIR!" Ladybug screamed before her windpipe was crushed down by her akumatized cousin. 

His green eyes locked on hers and he gave her a weak smile. Time slowed down. She could see the dagger swinging down in an arc, ready to strike home in Chat's chest.  She was screaming, too loud for her to really understand how she was making that noise. Chat was saying something, but she couldn't hear him, but she watched his lips say  _I love you_. This was not how their story was supposed to end. This was not how they were supposed to die.

Master Fu's words suddenly filled her head:  _Many ladybugs and chat noirs died the heroes death, more often than living happily ever after._ She had refused to accept it as fact back then, and she would continue to refuse now. 

A flash of silver.

The dagger was flying from Le Papillon's hand and into the hand of another masked hero. The woman in silver and blue twirled it in her hand. "Well, well, well. Seems like you've been a naughty boy. Maybe I should teach you another lesson, Le Papillon." She smirked.

"Loup de la Lune, I thought I told you to stay in New York where you belong."

"Yeah, I know. I thought about it, but you see, I don't take orders very well. Besides, Paris is my home, I wasn't going to let you come here and ruin it." The new comer said. She had silver boots and gloves and silver stretching along her torso. There was silver fur that cuffed her forearms and calves and fluffy silver ears on her head. Her hair was ice blue with silver tips and her eyes looked like melted platinum. She was terrifying, and radiated confidence.

"Stupid bitch." He snarled.

"Hey now, there's ladies present." And like that, the wolf miraculous holder was moving. She suddenly held two batons and was on top of Bridgette. She slapped one across Bridgette's exposed jaw line causing her to release Ladybug so that she could finally breathe. A second strike rendered the woman unconscious and she turned back on Le Papillon. "I'm going to give you exactly 5 seconds to scram before I leave you as broken as I did the last time I got a hold of you."

Le Papillon bolted and scooped Bridgette into his arms before fleeing from the roof. "You let him go," Ladybug said between gasps.

"It was either that or I was going to put him back in the hospital. Besides, I know he'll be back again. He and I have some unfinished business." The girl knelt down and helped Ladybug to her feet. "Glad I got here when I did. It looked like you needed some help."

"Like hell we did. How do we know that you don't work with him?" Ladybug jabbed her finger into the girl's chest.

The girl chuckled and fixed Ladybug with her metallic gaze. "So he wasn't going to stab Chat Noir and kill him? And his girlfriend wasn't going to snap your neck while suffocating your teammate? I can understand your not trusting me to be who I say I am, but I hate him and what he did while in New York. The only reason he's still breathing is because I'm not a killer."

"Then who exactly are you?" Chat Noir said as he walked over and leaned onto Ladybug's shoulder. The movement was casual enough, but the girl caught it instantly and saw that the cat was marking his territory. 

"Lupaa, paws off." Both partners stared in shock as the girl in front of them detransformed. She lost the suit and was left standing there looking hardly different besides her outfit. Her hair was all silver now, but so were her eyes. Her skin was the same dark color, and her clothes were just as tight on her skin as the suit had been. She was wearing blue fishnets under a pair of black ripped shorts. She had on black combat boots and a black tank top that was under her blue jacket. "Now you know my face, and my kwami."

The little wolf waved at them before hiding in the woman's jacket. She was beautiful, even Ladybug had to admit that. "That doesn't mean we can trust you."

"Don't trust me then, but trust that I'll be there when you need me to be there. He'll slink off and lick his wounds for a month or so while he figures out a way to get rid of me. The only problem for him will be that he can't beat me. Wolves eat butterflies for fun." The girl winked. "Lupaa, paws on." The flash of blue erupted and forced the couple to look away as the girl swung away from them, weaving between buildings until she was out of sight.

"Who was that?" Queen Bee asked as she stepped up next to the couple.

"I think she's called Loup de la Lune." Chat offered.

Carapace dropped Rena down next to them. "Well whoever she was, I'm glad she was around." He said as he replaced the shield on his back.

"Same though. That was a close one." Rena swallowed as she glanced at the others.

"Next time, we'll be ready." Ladybug said. No one knew how she could be so certain, but she sounded firm in her belief that the next time they encountered Felix and Bridgette, that they would be prepared.

But that was the thing, they had a long wait. Soon it was spring in Paris and the thought of another attack began to ebb from their minds as things went back to normal. They trained and continued their patrols, but things were quiet on the Le Papillon front. Even Felix and Bridgette had seemingly disappeared. The teens began to focus more on studying for finals and preparing to graduate, but Marinette had started to think about other things as well. While she had seen the face of the newest miraculous holder in Paris and knew she was from Paris, she knew nothing else about her. It wasn't until a week before graduation, that she stopped obsessing over that situation.

Her full focus was on final exams. She had made it all the way through to the last one. Here she was, tugging her exhausted body into the last classroom she would sit in during her high school career. "Ready?" Alya whispered from next to her as they set down their bags.

"Never, this is it. We're at the end. We did it." Marinette's smile was almost a grimace. She knew coffee had replaced her blood about a week ago at the last midnight study session in the school library. Since then, she had drank at least 3 cups a day.

Adrien leaned onto her when they sat down. "Nap time after this?" He asked.

"Perfect. I vote we all collapse on Marinette's bed." Nino clapped Adrien and Marinette both on the shoulder.

"Sounds good to me." Alya laughed, but it sounded forced.

Mlle Bustier stood at the front of the class and clapped her hands. "My class. I will be sad to see you go. It has been wonderful to see you grow over the years. However, as every teacher knows, we must let our students go so that we can watch them change the world. Now, some of you have already begun to change the world, but I know each of you will have your own impact on it. I can't wait to see where you go from here. You're like my own children." Tears filled her eyes as she handed out the last test she would ever give them. "You may begin." She stated as she sat behind her desk. Papers shuffled, Rose sneezed, the clock ticked at a loud and alarmingly fast rate. By the time Marinette's pen stopped flying across the pages, the room had begun to become quiet.

The entire class slowly left the room, person by person. They handed in their tests and hugged their favorite teacher goodbye. Adrien was the first out, followed quickly by Alya and Marinette who handed theirs in at the same time. They sat in the courtyard with the others, discussing their ideas for the summer. Nino was the last to leave the classroom. They group all sat together for another 20 minutes before they realized that it was over. 

"This is it, huh?" Kim frowned.

"Nonsense, we'll see each other at graduation in a week." Max grinned.

"And then there's the party at Chloe's that night." Sabrina chimed in.

The group all glanced at each other. "We could plan a camping trip or something so that we make sure we get together? Maybe do it once every summer?" Mylene suggested.

Suddenly everyone in the group grew excited and began to chat about the annual trip idea. "Wait a second, we have 2 for sure weddings that we'll be going to in the future guys." Nathaniel pointed out. All attention flipped onto the 4 engaged teens.

"Oh yeah, that's true too. You will all be invited for sure." Alya said.

"There's no way that we could have a wedding without any of you." Adrien said as he felt Marinette lean harder onto his shoulder. He knew that she had to be just as exhausted as he was. "But for now, I vote that we go home and go to sleep."

"I second that. I still think the cuddle puddle on Marinette's bed is the best idea." Alya said as she threw her arm around Adrien and Nino.

"Please?" Marinette yawned.

Adrien shrugged off Alya's arm and scooped up his half asleep fiancee. It had taken some getting used to, but now he rather enjoyed calling her that. The media had flipped out after the did an interview with Alya's blog. They had been called on by so many news outlets that DCA Fashions had to do a press release to tame them.

The class all left the building at the same time. As they all scattered for the last time, Adrien felt his heart ache. These were the people he had become closest to since his mother had disappeared. It would be weird to not see them everyday. As they shuffled through the bakery, Sabine and Tom grinned at them. The exhausted teens dragged themselves up the stairs until they reached Marinette and Adrien's room. Adrien sat Marinette on her feet and let her climb up into their bed herself. Soon all 4 teens were under the covers and snuggled together. Not even minutes later, they were all in a deep sleep, not realizing that someone was right outside their window, watching them closely.

"See you soon," she whispered before she disappeared from the roof.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm backkkkk, sorry for that little hiatus, I'm working so many hours and trying to deal with my crazy life. I'm interviewing for another job where I'll make double my current pay, I went on a great date that turned into the worst decision I've ever made, and I'm trying to finish 15 paintings in time for Christmas. I wish I had the time and energy left to pour my heart into this story like I used to, but I promise I'm trying! Love you guys so much! Emily


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